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Make any meal complete with a warm batch of this delicious Vegan Cornbread. It's easy to make and bakes to golden perfection in just 20 minutes!

Mealtime is always fun when you have a piece of fluffy Vegan Cornbread to go along with it. It's filled with lots of corn flavor, tender on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside.
It pairs beautifully with so many meals, but it especially goes with a variety of stews, soups, and salads. I love serving it with my vegan chili, or alongside my vegan baked beans and vegan mac and cheese. It's also perfect for sopping up lots of vegan gravy!
Ingredients, Notes, and Substitutions
Just a short list of simple ingredients is all you'll need. Here are some substitute ideas:
- Soy Milk - It's most similar to dairy buttermilk when an acid is added, but any non-dairy milk will work.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - Fresh lemon juice will work too.
- All-Purpose Flour - A 1.1 gluten-free flour will work if you're gluten-sensitive.
- Cornmeal - I recommend using yellow because the corn flavor is more prominent. You can also use white or blue cornmeal. I used a fine grain but you can also use a medium grain.
- Cane Sugar and Brown Sugar - You can use this blend that I used or just one of them if preferred.
- Apple Sauce - I recommend using unsweetened. If you don't have applesauce, you can try unsweetened non-dairy yogurt.
- Canola Oil - any neutral-flavored oil will work. Melted vegan butter works nicely, too.
How to make Vegan Cornbread
This recipe is very easy to put together. Just make the batter and bake! Here's how to do it:
FAQs
Cornbread is best when it's fresh, but you can store it in an airtight container at room temp for 2 days. It can also be stored in the fridge the same way for 3-5 days. Just warm in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften.
Absolutely! It freezes well for 2-3 months. After baking, let it completely cool, then wrap it well and store it in the freezer. I like to cut it into single servings and thaw what I need. To thaw, leave it on the counter for 10-15 minutes or gently warm in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Yes! I use it for my vegan cornbread stuffing recipe and it works perfectly. The only change I make is I omit the cane sugar, but keep the brown sugar in it. It's not too sweet in my opinion, but you can reduce it to 2 tablespoons if preferred.
More Corn Recipes to Try
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Recipe
Easy Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup soy milk (see note)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup applesauce , unsweetened
- ½ cup canola oil or any neutral-flavored oil
Recommended Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Parchment Paper (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Lightly grease an 8x8 cake pan. Line with parchment if preferred.
- In a large bowl, add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- When the buttermilk is ready, add the applesauce, oil, cane sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine well.
- Now slowly pour the wet ingredients into the larger bowl of dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula so you get all that moisture. Fold batter with a spatula until just combined. Some small lumps are fine. Don't overwork the batter.
- Pour batter into the baking pan and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (some dry crumbs are fine, just not wet batter). Let the pan sit on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the cornbread from the pan and cool on rack for 5 more minutes before cutting.
Notes
- Soy Milk - It's similar to dairy buttermilk when an acid is added. If you can't have soy, you can use any non-dairy milk.
- Measuring Flour - don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup directly from the flour container. Instead, Aerate the flour first, then scoop the flour out of your container with a spoon and then into a measuring cup. Don’t pack or tap the cup. After filling, lightly sweep a butter knife across the top to remove the excess flour.
- Sweetener - you can use all cane sugar or all brown sugar if preferred. This recipe will also work with ⅓ cup of pure maple syrup.
- If you like less sweet cornbread, just cut the sweetener in half.
- Instead of oil, you can use melted vegan butter.
- Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are not expired otherwise, it could alter the final results.
- For best results, use room-temperature ingredients. If some are cold, leave them out while you pre-heat the oven and prep. At least 20 minutes.
- It's important to maintain the right oven temperature for successful results. An oven thermometer is the best way to detect the accuracy of your oven.
- If you use this for my vegan cornbread stuffing recipe, make sure to omit the cane sugar. I leave in the brown sugar and I don't feel like it's too sweet. However, you can reduce it to 2 tablespoons if preferred.
Kara
The best cornbread ever! It wasn’t too sweet and came out tender. My family loved it! Thank you for this winner!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Kara, I'm so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for giving it a try! 🙂